Cleaning implement



July 6, 1948. J. H. STILLBACH 2,444,758

' CLEANING IMPLEMENT Filed Dec. 11, 1947 Patented July 6, 1948 4 Claims.

l f The ypresent invention-'relates tof improvements `inecleaning implements, such asf-mopsfscrubbing vbrushes, brooms,.sque egees, etc.,- and'morerpar- Y ticularlyto means for-coupling-orA unitingv .cleaning heads With'- the handleX ofi-the implement.

Mechanisms-for detachably'lv'mounting a-.mop

as known, ithas beenl-heretoforethe lgeneral practice to so construct the head and-1thehandle that' onlyahead of a specific type-isadapted to be mounted upon` said handle.

One of ,the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved coupling between the head of a cleaningimplement.and..the,handle thereof whereby mop heads', brush bodies, broom heads,

v squeegees, and the like"may..beinterchangeably atta-ched to a universal handlegthatis togsay, so to constructthe.handlethat practically all cleaning implement heads used in a normal household"il mayf-.be mounted on thehandle, as occasionv of -the -use 'of these implementsfarises.

= Anotherobject-ofthe invention is tio-provide a angular adjustment of thecleaning head on the handle.

With these and other-objects in View, which will I`more fully appear `-as the nature fof thel invention Yisvbetterunderstood, the-:sameYA consists in the combination arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion of the several parts and details of -construction within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

One of the many possible embodiments of the handle of the implement and of the cleaning head is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a `perspective View of the improved handle and a mop head mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section taken through the handle, the mop head, and the coupling between the said two elements; and

Fig. 3 is an exploded view, in perspective, showing the several parts of the cleaning implement.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral .in-'the case illustrateds finstancerf the said :handle .may:.;bef:inf;lthe

tached an open ferrule,ypriojec,ting a..s11b$tantial :idistancebelowf theustaff so as to fformaI socket in @the handle, f c, .In a the .caser illustrated, :the 1 tubular handle isopen atitslower end, andthe-,lattenwill .be :referred to,- hereinafter 1 as a .sock-et. rf Fromthe open end of the handle extends upwardlyvauslot ii I Vrunningparalleli with;y the .longitudinali axis ..ofthe..tube.and:serving toa receive aafpin-IZ-on a .cylindricalstemiffl3., which ispca-rried,=in ama-nner hereinafter to be described," by etheffmop- 'head I4. Surrounding the open end'lofthe .itube is a locking sleeveIE, part offwhichis knurled to 1 ,facilitateA manual operationofnthe 1 same. The #sleeve is*foscillatably-m :nuntedon.v the @handle by ,.iineansfof az-lug I6, AwhichV extends through. V'a1-slot I 'Lin ,the .handle and; carries afgspring 7 I 8; which is :l .disposed within theV socket. 'e The: -purposeyof i .this-aspiring is;,.tol prevent,` accidental. turning Aof :j the; locking? sleeve when l 'the.. in iplementt is .g in

`coupling-elementwhich iscapable of being-at-r` I tachedv to A=all- -`of the cleaningeelements above'i" "referred to, lsaid-couplingwelement being fso -con- `structed that it -mayvebe immovably mounted-on a aoperation. l11m.the.flocking#sleeve isf-formed a tbayonetxslot I 9;;y ,thevvertical glegofwhichfextends .from11the-:lower eend of '.-t-he docking, sleeves and merges/into a `horizontal leg; f Thelength of said 1 `horizontaleleg corresponds substantially to f that ofzthe handle slotl 15 andtheflatter; isy so; located @so .that it .permits :the :vertical -leg-,f.of the bayonet Mslottoloe brought into alignmenttwith.thehandle be ttedsimultaneouslyintoatheslot I I,:.and.;the

bayonet slot I9.

The mop head I4 comprises two clamping members 20 and 2I, between which the mop material 22 is held. 'I'he mop material consists of a suitable number of strands, bound along their longitudinal center between fabric strips 23, which are fastened together, preferably, by sewing. The mop material is folded upon itself as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings and placed between the clamping members 20 and 2I. The clamping member 20 is, preferably, made of wire and includes a substantially vertical portion 24 that is screwthreaded at its free end. The vertical portion 24 is passed through holes 25 in the fabric strips and also through a hole 26 in the clamping member 2I, it extending through and above the stem I3 already referred to. The stem I3 is immovably fixed to the clamping member 2I, its pin I2 extending laterally thereon. A knurled nut 21 engages the threads of the vertical lportion of the clamp 20, being adapted to i0 indicates the handle of the implement, which, 55 bear against the free end of the stem I3, whereby the members 20 and 2l are held in clamping positions upon the mop material.

When it is intended to assemble the mop head with the handle, rst the locking sleeve l5 is moved upon the handle so that the vertical leg of its bayonet slot is brought into alignment with the handle slot Il. The ypin l2 is then fitted into the last-mentioned two slots and the stem I3 .shifted into thehandle socket'untilr the pin I2 is in alignment with the horizontal portion of the bayonetslot. The locking sleeve is then turned so that the pin I 2 is brought into the horizontal portion of the bayonet slot, whereby the implement is ready for use. As mentioned heretofore, the spring I8 prevents accidental movement of the sleeve while the implement isv in operation,

It is obvious that other cleaning elements, such as scrubbing brushes, squeegees and the like may be provided with the stem i3 above referred to, the latter being adapted tobe fastened to mop ramea'backs of brushes, .or blade carrying frames of squeegees, for the purpose of coupling socket in its lower end, of a cleaning material supporting frame col-operating therewith, said '.socketlbein-g provided with-a longitudinal slot running inwardly from its open end, a cylindrical stem mounted upon said frame adapted to be seated in 'saidsocket a laterally extending pin on said stem' for engagement with said slot, a locking sleeve oscillatably arranged on said handle over said'Aso-cket and being provided with va bayonet slot having one leg capable of overlying said kfirst-named slot `and its other leg running 'atright angles theretogwher'eby said pin is prevented from disengagement from said firstnamed slot'when said locking sleeve is turned I so that one' of its legs is brought out of alignment .with saidv first-named slot, and a lspring mounted on said'sleeve and bearing against'the Number f inner surface of said socket to prevent accidental turning of said sleeve on said handle.

2. In a combination according to claim 1, said spring being wholly disposed Within said socket.

3. The combination with a handle having a socket in its lower end, of a cleaning material supporting frame :so-operating therewith, said socket being provided with a longitudinal slot running inwardly from its open end, a cylindrical stemfmounted.uponfsaid frameadapted to be seated in'said socket, 'a laterally extending pin on said stem for engagement with said slot, a locking sleeve oscillatably arranged on said handle over said socket and being provided With a bayonet slot having one leg capable of overlying said rst-named slot and its other leg running at right angles thereto, whereby said pin is prevented frorn disengagement from said first-named slot when said locking sleeve is turned so that one o-f its legs is brought out of alignment with said rstenamed slot, said socket being provided witha slot running at right angles to said rstnarned socket slot, a lug fixed to said sleeve extending through the socket slot which runs at right angles to said rst-named slot, and a spring mounted on said lug and bearing against the inner surface of said socket to prevent accidental turning of said sleeve' on said handle, said lug limiting the oscillating movement of said sleeve on said socket.

4. In ar combination according` to claim 3, said spring being Wholly disposed within said socket.

JAN H. STILLBACH.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

'UNrTED ySTATES PATENTS Name Date 921,840 Jacobs May 18, 1909 931,327 Manzel Aug. 17, 1909 1,418,184 Trunick l May 30, 1922 1,420,639 Sturgis June 27, 1922 1,494,859 Miller et al May 20, 1924 1,505,318 Berlow Aug. 19, 1924 1,932,099 Cabana Oct; 24, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number y Country Date 245,076 Italy Feb'. 18, 1926 691,732 r France Oct.,24, 1930 

